The days are flying by, and yet I’ve had a somewhat leisurely summer break with lots of time to get things done. Unfortunately, a bunch of my projects required a lot more time than anticipated (due to re-dos). It’s annoying when projects don’t go smoothly. In the heat of the moment, I’m often tempted to just go with the botched job, but then my better judgment kicks in the next day and I go through the tedious process of fixing the bloopers. I don’t have anything to share yet because many things are still in progress. But here are some pics that I snapped throughout the past month.

The late afternoon sun revealed a beautiful surprise on our deck:

Bubba, my faithful cat companion, followed me to and from the garden, rubbing against my boots and begging for a pet. He follows me everywhere when I’m outside.

Who said that dogs are more loyal than cats?

The raspberries are finished now, but we enjoyed them in parfaits, on pound cake, with cream, and just plain. It’s a flavor I don’t tire of.

Our woeful blueberry bushes (chewed down by rabbits every winter) produced just enough berries for us to realize how delicious they’ll be when they grow bigger in the coming years. We plan to build a fence around them this fall to deter our hopping friends.

This is our miracle peach tree that was girdled two winters ago, but still survived against all odds. The internet doesn’t always prove correct!

I discovered beautiful wild pea flowers that I just had to pick. I was envisioning blossoms cascading in a vase in my kitchen until….my hands began to itch and swell. Unfortunately, I had also brushed up against itch weed! I started popping benadryl and slathering on anti-itch cream. Who would have known such sinister plants were lurking on our property?

A pair of hawks created quite a cacophony in our neighbor’s yard: blue jays screeching, squirrels chattering a warning, and the hawks calling to each other with their raspy voices:

On a different occasion, a red tailed hawk decided to visit our huge walnut tree right outside the kitchen window. I’ll admit that I was a little worried about Bubba’s safety!

And now an update on our veggie garden:

The corn is popping up in rows:

The beans have grown over the arbor and are beginning their full-fledged production:

The tomatoes are delicious, as always!

The summer squash looks beautiful, but I’m still not sure how I’m going to prepare them.

Any suggestions?

Grilled zucchini served with grated Parmesan and lemon juice

has become a staple in our diet:

A strange fungus is among us. Anyone know what kind of mushrooms these are?

And that’s it for this random post! I’m off to finish some more projects……